KAZARKEN (AS WE DIG)

A woman of Turkish ascent, following ancient anatolian healing rites, dreams her way through fragments of memory, both personal and collective. Guided by a mythological character, Kheiron the Centaur,
she travels freely between the ruins of an ancient Roman hospital
and the streets of a mountain village, high above the river Euphrates. Time and space become dislocated, opening up passages between worlds. An inner experience translated into a film poem, Kazarken explores memory as a place of struggle against oblivion and the violences of hidden history.

  • Güldem Durmaz
    Director
  • Güldem Durmaz
    Writer
  • Simon Backès
    Writer
  • A Nous 2/ Güldem Durmaz & Simon Backès
    Producer
  • CBA - Centre de l'Audiovisuel à Bruxelles
    Producer
  • Denis Lavant
    Key Cast
    "Kheiron"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    KAZARKEN
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Feature
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Experimental, Essay
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    Belgium
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium, France, Turkey
  • Language:
    French, Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 34th Torino International Film Festival, Italy 2016
    Torino
    Italy
    official international documentary competition
  • Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tetouan, Morocco 2017
    Tetouan
    Morocco
    official international documentary selection
  • Sguardi Altrove Film Festival, Milano, Italy 2017
    milano
    Italy
    international selection
  • Millenium International Documentary Film Festival, Bruxelles, Belgium 2017
    brussels
    Belgium
    official international documentary selection
  • 33e Rencontres Cinema Gindou, France 2017
    Gindou
    France
  • Comptoir du Doc / Programmation Hors Format - Parcheminerie, Rennes, France 2017
    Rennes
    France
  • Soirée réouverture du Cinéma Le Styx - Bruxelles, Belgium 2017
    brussels
    Belgium
  • Filmer à Tout Prix / Panorama belge, Bruxelles, Belgium 2017
    brussels
    Belgium
    national documentary
  • GZDOC - Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, Guangzhou, China 2017
    Guangzhou
    China
    Golden Kapok selection
  • Dhaka International Film Festival, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2018
    Dhaka
    Bangladesh
    international doc
  • L'Europe autour de l'Europe - Evropa Film Akt, Paris, France 2018
    paris
    France
    international competition sauvage
  • Festival des Cinémas de Turquie, Paris, France 2018
    paris
    France
  • 36° Festival Cinematográfico Internacional del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay 2018
    montevideo
    Uruguay
    international competition screening
  • Cairo Cinmatheque
    Cairo
    Egypt
    June 23, 2018
  • on MUBI

    March 8, 2018
  • Whakapapa Film Festival, Irsina, Italy
    Irsina
    Italy
    July 6, 2018
    GOLDEN KORU / Best Documentary Prize
  • 32° Cineuropa Santiago de Compostela
    Santiago de Compostela
    Spain
    November 11, 2018
  • Ibiza Cine Fest
    Ibiza
    Spain
    July 17, 2019
  • Ekurhaleni International Film Festival
    Germiston
    South Africa
    June 21, 2019
  • Every Woman Biennial
    New York City
    United States
    May 22, 2019
  • MIFVIF, Maracay International Film & Video Festival
    Maracay
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    June 23, 2019
  • New York City International Reel Film Festival, NYC, USA 2019
    NYC
    United States
    July 13, 2019
  • Manhattanhenge Film Festival, New York, USA 2019
    NYC
    United States
    July 15, 2019
  • Bacalar International Film Festival, Mexico 2019
    Mexico
    Mexico
    July 20, 2019
    Ganadora Bacalar Jury’s Award
  • 4° Canal de Panama International Film Festival, Panamá 2019
    Panama
    Panama
    August 15, 2019
    BEST DOCUMENTARY INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
  • Aphrodite Film Awards, NYC, USA 09/2018
    NYC
    United States
    September 15, 2018
    Best Documentary Feature
  • 6° FICLAPAZ - La Paz International Film Festival
    La Paz
    Bolivia, Plurinational State of
    September 4, 2019
Director Biography - Güldem Durmaz

(born in 1971) lives and works between Brussels, Istanbul and Paris.
Her work includes, and sometimes mixes, film-making, video installations, and live performances.
Her short fiction films have been selected and rewarded in numerous international festivals.
Her first feature-length film, Kazarken - As We Dig, was completed in 2016.
Her work explores the connections between memory, language and cultural or transcultural identities, as she experiments with actors and non-actors, secret or invented languages, spaces and situations both real and oneiric.

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